The Cairo government claims that Ola al-Qaradawi and Hosam Khalaf were accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, which it says is a “terrorist” group.

The family denies the accusation and brought the case last September to the UN working group on arbitrary detention.

Egyptian authorities have detained thousands of political opponents to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since he led the 2013 overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi, who was a member of the Brotherhood. Critics say it is the worst political crackdown in Egypt’s modern history.